First lady Michelle Obama with her daughters Malia and Sasha and her mother, Marian Robinson, watch folk dancers during a visit to Xi'an, China, on March 24. / Feng Li, Getty Images

by Maria Puente, USA TODAY

by Maria Puente, USA TODAY

Well, this is a little disturbing: It turns out that Chinese television viewers may think Scandal is a true reflection of the president and first lady and Washington in general. But first lady Michelle Obama, who's in China and also loves Scandal, put them straight.

The first lady, who's been in China since last week, is on a goodwill and cultural exchange visit with her daughters and mother, promoting education and seeing the sights.

On Monday, for instance, they went to the Museum of the Terra Cotta Warriors at the archaeological site in Xi'an, one of China's most popular tourist attractions.

So far, Obama hasn't taken any questions from the American reporters covering the trip, a source of the usual media grumbling even before her trip started. Then today, the White House sent round an English transcript of a Q&A she did with an online Chinese outlet, Caixin, that appeared in China on Friday.

The questions were pretty tame, giving Obama a chance to talk about her main theme of how education contributed to her success and what she's learned after six years as first lady.

But one question described Chinese TV viewers as hooked on a "certain American TV series about Washington politics," and that many viewers are "getting their primary impressions of the president and the first lady" from said series. What is the real American first lady's life like? she was asked.

Since Netflix's House of Cards focuses more on a murderous vice president and HBO's Veep focuses more on a comically inept vice president, they're most likely talking about Scandal. That ABC series focuses on a Washington fixer, played by Obama pal Kerry Washington, who among other adventures, is having an affair with the president. Mrs. O has confessed to watching the series in binge bursts on long flights.

But don't get the wrong idea, Obama advised the Chinese.

"I hate to disappoint people, but real life in the White House is nothing like what you see in that television show," she said. Then, with her usual strict message discipline, she used the question to expand further on what she really wanted to talk about.

"In real life, everyone in the White House - my husband and I and every member of our extraordinary staff - is there for one reason: because we love our country and want to serve it," she said. "And that's what we focus on every day: how to give more Americans a chance to fulfill their dreams, to get a good education, get a good job to support their families, and so much more."